Prison Love
by nanofatelicious
Summary: In order to prevent her already sick brother from joining the army, Nanoha had decided to disguise as Kyoya to attend the future war. However, she had never expected to meet a blonde haired boy that makes her heart beat in more than one way or the other. Still, the blonde seems to be more than what meets the eye, so just who exactly did Nanoha really fall in love with?
1. Chapter 1

**Prison Love**

**by ****_illgiveyouparadise_**

* * *

Hey guys! This is an idea that suddenly popped into my mind recently so I took the initiative to write it out.

This is the summary, in case you're curious:

In order to prevent her already sick brother from joining the army, Nanoha had decided to disguise as Kyoya to attend the future war. However, she had never expected to meet a blonde haired boy that makes her heart beat in more than one way or the other. Still, the blonde seems to be more than what meets the eye, so just who exactly did Nanoha really fall in love with?

So check my story out and tell me if you want me to continue.

Currently, I'm still on** Quixotic Love**, and if you've already read that story too, then please go to it after you've read this short one-shot. I've made some (mega) changes to it so leave me some reviews on what you think about the updated version!

Thanks!

This story and idea was actually inspired by 1. D-Day (awesome movie by the way) and 2. Mulan (again, awesome cartoon).

Enjoy!

Oh and of course, DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAGICAL GIRL LYRICAL NANOHA AT ALL!

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**Chapter 1**

_Why did it come to this?_

Nanoha asked herself for the tenth time.

_Oh right, it was all for her brother Kyoya. _

The thought of her brother, if it had any effect, made her even gloomier.

He had been sick, but the government, who were on edge ever since their strategists predicted a large-scaled war would take place in a few years, recruited people for their army and just by their luck, every family had had to send their eldest son to support them.

Naturally, they couldn't refuse the government, not when you only own a small _Midoriya Cafe_.

Still, her brother had been sick, and she wouldn't allow him to go. Not when he couldn't even stand or take care of himself properly.

It had been hard on Kyoya when he received the devastating news announced by the government that had spread throughout their city like a wild fire. Going to war had meant leaving his beloved girlfriend, and the chances of him returning to her were...incalculable.

It was probably at that time that she had come to her conclusion: she would disguise as her brother and join the army in order to preserve the happiness of Kyoya and Shinobu Tsukimura, his discreet girlfriend.

Of course, her brother had denied her suggestion at first. In fact, her whole family did, but nothing could change her mind, and after Kyoya got sick, her resolve only became stronger.

So here she was, sitting on a mini-bus cramped with other people like her: trainees for combat, but the only difference was that she's a girl, not a guy.

She fiddled with the hem of her baggy t-shirt. The binds that she had over her chest was suffocating her, it was something that she needed to get used to, but right now, it was downright uncomfortable.

Sighing, her eyes skimmed over the bunch of men sitting in the bus.

Their faces were grim, no one smiled or laughed._ Now what did she expect? People joking around and guffawing with each other while leaving their loved ones behind? _Nanoha snickered at that.

_At least she wasn't the only one who was suffering from the separation with family members_, a little voice in her head said.

Soon, the mini-bus stopped in a remote area where a huge block of metallic building stood dully, looking like a prison cell.

The person in charge, who was at the very front blared his speaker, 'I want two people standing side by side in a row when you get off the bus! Choose a partner and he'll be your roommate for as long as you're training here. Is that clear?'

Heads nodded sullenly.

'I said,_ is that clear_?'

'Yes sir,' the men grumbled apprehensively.

'That behavior is certainly unacceptable. Show some respect! Ah, but no worries, folks. We will beat you into the right shape in no time at all!' the man cackled, and if it was possible, the expression on the others' faces became even more sour.

'Now get the hell out of here!' the man hollered, and people instantly rose and shuffled out of the bus one by one.

Unfortunately, Nanoha was the last one to walk by the person in charge and to her utmost horror; she was stopped short with an iron grip on her shoulders.

'Hey, you, you look like a girl.' The man squinted his beady eyes on her.

She stiffened. Her heartbeat drummed painfully in her ears.

Was this it? Were they going to find out that she's actually a girl? That she had disguised as her brother and came here while hiding the truth? Was she going to be executed as punishment? Or maybe even _death penalty_ for deceiving the government?

'You better watch that pretty face of yours, pretty boy, because yer face ain't gonna stay like that for long,' the man sneered.

It took a few seconds for Nanoha to digest what he just said, and relief flooded through her veins immediately. She nodded at him.

When she finally left the bus, most of the men had already found themselves a partner, which left her... partner-less.

Looking around, she spotted a tall blonde-haired guy standing awkwardly at the side, his head dipped down.

He was keeping to himself and emitting an aura that screamed 'leave me alone!', but even though Nanoha could understand why he was doing so too, she considered the situation and went up to him.

'Hey, you got a partner yet?' she asked, lowering her voice in the process.

The blondie froze, her body rigid before slowly raising his head to meet her eyes.

Suddenly, burgundy clashed with cobalt.

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Okay, I know it's short, but I don't really know if you guys will like this type/kind of story, so** leave me some reviews if you want me to continue**! Tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Prison Love**

**By illgiveyouparadise**

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I'm not sure whether you're reading this or not, since I understand that sometimes we just want to go straight to the story, but there's a few misunderstanding and info that I want to clear up just a bit/inform you guys.

1. Fate is STILL a girl. No matter what you read, keep that in mind. Everything will be explained in later chapters. ^^

2. There's going to be elements of slight fantasy and magic involved.

3. Disclaimer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha does not belong to me! (just wanted to fit this in...)

Anyway, below are some responses to your awesome reviews! Thanks for the enthusiastic response guys! I seriously didn't expect that, since this idea is kinda... not so common for MGLN. So seeing as some of you really like it, I even worked on it during my trip!

**Guests**: Thanks a lot for your comment! It's very encouraging!

**FrostyAsian**: Hope you like this chapter then!

**EmrrizMei**: A twist it will be then. I'm working on it! *salutes*

**Aka Chibi-Chan**: Thanks for your ever-so-awesome review! My guess is you really like MGLN, because you commented on both my stories (quixotic love) too as soon as they're published. Anyhow, thanks for all the reviews! It really means a lot to me.

**Lance58**: Thanks for your review! This is the newest chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it!

**williams 1**: I'm glad that you find it interesting. As for the matter on chapters, I'm not really sure, but I'm hoping to finish the story, so I guess it depends on the pace of my story...

**megamar**: Hehe. Sorry for making you confused. Fate is still a girl...

**Kristim chan**: Thanks for the review!

**Enjoy reading and I hope you're not disappointed with it!**

**I'm taking a slower pace for this chapter, so tell me if you want it to be faster, or this pace is totally fine with you!**

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Chapter 2

There were only a few times in Nanoha's life that rendered her speechless, and one of those rare moments happened to be right now.

She had never seen eyes filled with such a hollow well of melancholy, the colour red burning intensely into her memories.

The blonde blinked and adverted his eyes to the ground and on queue, his messy hair covered them, hiding his face from her.

'No,' he muttered, his voice blending into the environment, and Nanoha would have missed it if she had not strained her ears to hear it.

'Then shall we be partners?' she prompted.

The guy nodded and shuffled towards the line. She followed him wordlessly, glancing at his slightly hunched back.

_Great_, she thought_, she got a silent, unsociable and lanky guy for a roomate, one who probably needs help during training and gets yelled at for being slow too._

She sighed. On the brighter side, at least he won't go snooping around her stuff and acidentally find out her secret, the fact that she's a girl, because he seemed to be the type who keeps to himself.

Fillling in the empty spot beside the blondie, the speakers blared again.

'Alright folks! I think you all know what you got yourself into!' the person in charge smirked. 'Well, it ain't my fault that you were born to be the eldest!'

Dislike for the speaking man was immediate for Nanoha._ Can he just get to the point?_

'Anyway, your commander's feeling gracious today, so he let you lucky bastards get the day off.'

Obvious sighs of relief were heard, and she too, joined in the chorus.

'But don't think you have nothing to do, folks. We will have a physical checkup on each and everyone of you before you familiarize yourself with the place,' the man continued.

_What? _She choked in her mind. _Physical checkup_?

Nanoha felt beads of sweat run over her eyebrows. Oh curse the sky, this was one unlucky day for her. Not only did she caught the green-haired man, the person-in-charge's attention; now she was facing the probability of exposing her secret just because of some minor physical checkup.

She was starting to regret her foolish decision of disguising as her brother. She should have taken her family's advice and stayed home. She should have succumbed to their requests for her to not follow her crazy plan.

Now, she was feeling somewhat faint. She felt like a heart-attack would be welcomed most sincerely with open arms. She felt like transforming into a bird and soar away- from this place and from reality.

'Tomorrow,' the man began, 'roll call is at five in the morning. You are to assemble in the canteen in your training clothes on time. No tardiness is allowed here. If you're late, then you'll be doing the extra hard training course by yourself. If you fall, drown, slip and die, then that's it for you!' he grinned sickly.

Nanoha forced herself to listen.

'Lunch is at twelve and dinner is at six. Lights out at ten, and you'll be sharing the bathroom with your roomate. Is that clear?'

A hand shot up firmly a few rows in front of her.

'Question, sir. Who is our trainer?' a guy with blue hair asked in a confident voice.

The person in charge widened his smile. 'Why, me of course. Who else is capable of putting newbies in their rightful places? Jail's the name, but you fledglings can only call me sir. Anymore questions?'

People shook their heads.

'Okay, folks. We'll have a short roll call right now, come foward in pairs. After I decide that you can pass, then go into the building and find your own rooms. There ain't no mommy to babysit you there in this place! And after you settle down, we'll meet at the clinic again for the checkup. Do I make myself clear?'

'Yes, sir!' they yelled, and Nanoha noticed that the blonde beside her kept silent throughout the whole ordeal.

When it was finally their turn to go forward, Jail squinted his beady eyes at her.

'Pretty boy, we meet again. What's your name?'

'It's Kyoya, sir,' she replied.

He ticked a square beside her brother's name on the paper board and turned to her roomate. 'You?'

Truthfully, Nanoha had expected a weak response. At least a wavering voice or shaking body, but to her surprise, the blondie's reply came out relatively strong.

'Fate, sir.'

His voice was deep and rough, but had a certain richness in it. Nonetheless, Nanoha found it really alluring, unlike his previous mousey muttering.

'Hm. . . that's one good voice you have there,' Jail paused and scrutinized her roomate. 'Tidy up your hair before the next time we meet, or it will be one night outside your room for you. Got it?'

'Yes, sir.' Fate said.

'Good. Your room number is 39. Now get out of my sight,' Jail said, and she walked inside the building gladly, her roomate following closely behind.

She had no time to get angry for their instructor's rudeness. She had other things to worry about, mainly the physical checkup. How was she going to find a way out for this one?

Her head suddenly felt heavier than usual.

A hand gripped her arm from behind, and instinctively, she jerked away.

'W-what?' she stuttered.

'Our room's the other way,' Fate said quietly.

'Oh,' Nanoha stated, feeling embarrassed for being so absorbed in her thoughts that she forgot to read the signs to go to their room.

She stalked stiffly at the opposite direction, and when they finally reached their room, two bunk beds, with one on the top of the other, and a simple wooden chair and table came into view.

'I-I'll have the top one, that is, if you don't mind,' she suggested, and her roomate slipped past her to sit at the lower bunk.

Grabbing her bag of neccessities that was brought into their room before they arrived, she went into the bathroom.

'I'll take a shower first!' she shouted before locking the door, giving extra attention to see that the lock was secured.

Changing out of her baggy clothes and unravelling her bindings, she stepped into the shower and sighed contently.

She was sure that she smelt like garbage dump with all the perspiration under the blazing sun and stuffy bus. She was a girl after all, and being only nineteen years old (although now as Kyoya, she was supposed to be 24), she still cared a lot about appearances.

The hot water trickled down her slightly tanned body, and she rubbed herself until she was satisfied and assured that she was ultra clean.

Closing the water tap, she took her towel off the hook and dried herself. Now, the hard part came.

Holding the white wide straps, she started to circle them around her chest as tightly as possible.

She figured that as long as she binded them flat enough, and that she had an available excuse to not take off her shirt, then everything would be fine. At least she hoped so, but there was just one tiny problem: what excuse?

Finishing tying the last circle, she turned and looked into the mirror.

Thank the sky that her chest wasn't _that_ big, or else there would be a lot more problems for her to fret over.

Putting on her shirt and long trousers, she unlocked the door and did a doubletake when her eyes settled on a figure.

_Who is that guy?_ her mind screamed.

On the lower bunk, propped on his elbows leisurely, was a male who looked to be in his early twenties.

He had flawless white skin and tidy golden blonde hair that was pulled into a high ponytail. His princely features were beautifully defined, each and every curve drawing out a godlike portrait. And his lips, they were oh-so-inviting with their pinkish tint.

Nanoha blushed at that thought.

The stranger was somewhat feminine too, in a way that Nanoha couldn't quite put a hand on, and he didn't seem to be aware of her presence, flipping through a newspaper.

She cleared her throat.

'A-hem. W-who are you? Where's Fate? Wha-'

The words got stuck in her throat when the guy glanced up at her: Stormy burgundy eyes met her clear blue ones.

The blonde tilted his head. 'Uh, I'm. . . Fate?' he said, creasing his eyebrows together.

Nanoha was pretty sure that her mouth was hanging wide open.

_How could this be_? her mind yelled unbelievingly. _Where was the messy haired, skinny, mousey and emo guy from this afternoon_? Because as far as she could tell, this guy was nothing like the Fate she had met before-

He was one, handsome. Two, lean. And three, he was emitting a dangerous aura around him. So how could he possibly be the same Fate?

But as much as she wanted to deny it, she found that she couldn't, because here, right in front of her very own eyes, was the very prove of what she had wanted to deny.

Stumped, she pursed her lips, her mind running a mile a second to find something to say.

'Oh, uh. . . you clean up rather nicely,' she scratched her head and laughed awkwardly.

Fate raised an eyebrow at her. 'Thanks, you too.'

Nanoha felt her cheeks flush. _Was that a comment?_

The blonde sat up, putting his newspaper aside. He was standing straight now, no hunched back, and she realized that he was actually quite tall, about a head taller than her, she guessed.

'Shall we go now?' Fate asked, staring at her.

'Go to where?' she said, puzzled.

'The clinic. We still have physical checkup, Takamachi.'

Nanoha knew that her face was beet red again. What was wrong with her today? She kept being an airhead.

'How did you know my last name?' she questioned, but the blonde just shrugged and walked past her to the door.

About to ask again, she was stopped short when Fate pivoted around and said gently, 'come.'

Grudgingly, Nanoha did. She wasn't sure why though. She wasn't one to yield to the command of another, but she did this time. Perhaps it was because of the pleading look that he had on…

She shot the blonde a curious look as they walked through the dim corridor.

He seemed to have so much sadness bottled up inside him, and it was obvious that he wasn't going to spill the beans unless. . . they were close enough to share secrets with each other.

Wait, it wasn't like she wanted to be his friend, she told herself. It wasn't like she's intrigued, or attracted. He just looked like he needed a friend, an ally. Yeah, that must be the case, she nodded vigorously to herself.

The duo stopped in front of a typical white door that had a golden badge with 'clinic' written on it. Reality crashed upon Nanoha.

Fate slid the door to the right and went inside. _Lucky for him, _she thought enviously. _He's a guy, so he have nothing to worry about_.

There were a few of the newcomers who were already having their physical checkup, and she tore her eyes away from their naked upper torso, feeling quite uncomfortable for being the only woman in a room full of men.

It was then that she saw the doctor, a short honey blonde-haired and green-eyed woman dressed in a white lab coat who was currently writing on a piece of paper. Hope blossomed in her heart.

Without thinking, Nanoha had quickened her pace towards the doctor, her heart beating wildly in anticipation. At last, she was saved! She wasn't going to be busted! She-

A sheathed sword halted her in midstep.

'Get back in line, soldier,' a familiar voice said.

Her eyes widened when she saw a pink-haired samurai with a stern look on her face. She was confused as to why the samurai did not recognize her, but after a few seconds, the fact that she's still disguising as Kyoya answered her query.

Frustrated, she exclaimed, 'Sig-' A hand clasped over her mouth.

'Let's go, Takamachi. Sorry we bothered you,' Fate, whose voice she easily recognized, (it was something that one cannot easily forget), bowed slightly at the samurai and dragged her to the last spot in the waiting line while she struggled against his hold, but her efforts were like an ant's compared to an elephant's.

To her dismay, she had to resort to the last idea-she bit his hand.

Immediately, fresh air whooshed into her mouth and she gasped. 'What the hell? Why did you drag me away? I needed to-'

'To what?' Fate interjected. 'Takamachi, Jail was watching you.'

Realization dawned on her, and she was suddenly glad that her roommate had stopped what she was about to do. She didn't want to cause a big scene on her very first day.

Sighing, she grumbled her thanks to Fate, who again, ignored her by taking off his shirt.

Nanoha felt her cheeks warming up, her gaze somewhat stuck onto the lean muscles that her roomate possessed.

She knew that he was waiting for her to do the same, but she pretended to not know and glanced impatiently at the people idling in front of her in the line instead.

Willing herself to not stare at Fate as he took his measurements and tests, she sighed in relief when it was finally her turn.

Shuffling up to the doctor, she leaned forward, trying to be as discreet as possible and whispered, 'Shamal, it's me!'

Surprise flitted across the doctor's face, and it soon turned into confusion.

'Pardon?'

'It's me, Nanoha!' she answered.

Green eyes searched her face, and horror wiped over the blonde's features, who covered a hand over her mouth and stuttered, 'N-Na-'

'What is going on here?' A sharp voice demanded.

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Okay, I feel weird writing this again, but please leave some reviews for me so I can improve some more! Thanks in advance!


	3. Chapter 3

**Prison Love**

**By: illgiveyouparadise**

* * *

Hello guys! Since it's the weekend, I seem to have a little bit more spare time than usual, so here it is:the next update!

First of all, just wanted to say that I really love reading your reviews. It certainly makes my day brighter.

Second of all, this chapter is kinda short, but it felt right to stop there, so hopefully, the next chapter would be longer.

Third of all, my responses to your reviews!

**EmrizzMei**: I'm delighted to see that you are enjoying my story! Really, I write stories because I want people to have a good time reading it, so your review made my day! Anyway, your guess is kinda close, but not quite on the right track. *suspense* okay, I fail, but still, I hope you'll like this chapter too!

**Lance58**: Thank you for your enthusiasm for my updates! And your question will be answered later one!

**Aka Chibi-Chan**:Yes, yes. You guessed right, but there's a little more to just that. Anyway, thanks for complementing on my writing! Please enjoy this chapter too!

**FrostyAsian:** Thank you for your review! And I hope you'll like this chapter too, though it's kinda short...

**Williams1**: Thank you for your review! I think it's a good thing that you're intrigued by my story, so it seems like I'm doing fine with my writing and plot etc. So this is the next chapter and please take your time and enjoy!

Lastly, please leave me some** reviews** so I can know what you think! Any comment will be fine! And I accept criticism quite well!

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Fate, or Nanoha. Not even Hayate. So you get the idea, all the credits go to the original maker of these characters- I do not own MGLN.

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_The smile on your face_  
_ Lets me know_  
_ That you need me_  
_ There's a truth_  
_ In your eyes_  
_ Saying you'll never leave me_  
_ The touch of your hand says_  
_ You'll catch me_  
_ Whenever I fall_  
_ You say it best_  
_ When you say_  
_ Nothing at all_

_ All day long_  
_ I can hear people_  
_ Talking out loud_  
_ But when you hold me near_  
_ You drown out the crowd_  
_ Try as they may_  
_ They could never define_  
_ What's been said_  
_ Between your_  
_ Heart and mine_

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_**Recap: **_

_'It's me, Nanoha!' she answered._

_Green eyes searched her face, and horror wiped over the blonde's features, who covered a hand over her mouth and stuttered, 'N-Na-'_

_'What is going on here?' A sharp voice demanded_

**Chapter 3**

The both of them spun around towards the one who spoke, and the sight they saw wasn't really pretty, or welcomed.

A black-faced man stood, his arms crossed over his chest and nostrils flaring.

'Mr. Scaglietti!' the blonde doctor beside Nanoha exclaimed, her green eyes darting back and forth nervously from the brunette to the fuming male.

'W-We just… Nano-…No wait,' taking a deep breath, the doctor tried again, composing herself, 'this trainee here just told me that he has slight skin infection on his chest and upper torso, and would therefore, prefer to not take off his shirt. I was just slightly surprised when he told me. That's all.'

The instructor seemed to buy her story, although the blonde woman had avoided his gaze the whole time.

'So pretty boy has his imperfections, eh? Get some work done, Wolkenritter. I want to be on time for dinner.' With that said, the man strode away, scowling at random newcomers and yelling at them to clear the way for him.

Sighing in relief, the doctor turned to the brunette. 'Talk about unlucky. He just had to come when Signum went to the toilet,' the blonde muttered and whisper-yelled to Nanoha, 'what in your name's sake are you doing here? In case you haven't noticed, this is a training camp for men and men only!'

The poor doctor seemed to be freaking out, and Nanoha suddenly felt bad for working her up.

'Yes I did notice, and I'll explain everything later,' she hushed back. 'Anyway, why are _you_ here? Aren't you supposed to be with Hayate?'

'You aren't getting anything out of me unless you tell me what you are up to. Do you have any idea what you're doing? When Hayate finds out, she's going to freak!' the doctor said, agitated.

Nanoha rolled her eyes. 'Like you just did?' she teased, but sobered up quickly. 'I know what I'm doing, Shamal. Plus, I think I got a pretty decent roommate, so there would be less risk for me.'

The doctor nodded and nudged her head at something behind her. 'You mean that guy?'

She whirled her head around to see Fate with his shirt back on, thank goodness, and staring intently at her with worried eyes, her piercing burgundy gaze filled with nothing but pure concern.

Feeling something warm build inside her chest, their eyes met, and for a short second, Nanoha had thought she saw a girl version of Fate, but the image immediately faded as quickly as it came.

Perplexed, she wondered why he was so concerned about her. It wasn't like they were friends, although she wouldn't mind being one. They had only met for not even one day, and yet, she had felt this enigmatic connection between them.

It was inexplicable, but it was just…_ there; _without explanation, without comprehension.

'How'd you know it's him?' she asked, turning back to the doctor who was smiling secretively at her.

'Intuition,' the blonde replied. 'Anyway, let's start your physical test. I don't want Mr. Scaglietti to come again. He's annoying and rude.'

Nanoha chuckled. At least someone had the same thoughts as her.

After she had finished taking the test, which included a little bit of hand grip and sit-and-reach etc, Shamal had told her that she would tell Signum and the others that she was here.

Feeling sad that she would have to leave the doctor, her roommate was by her side in no time.

Keeping their comfortable silence as they walked out of the clinic, Fate broke the silent spell that had wrapped itself over them, 'Do you know the doctor, Takamachi?'

Surprised and a little bit impressed that he had noticed, she said, 'Yes, she's one of my friend's medical practitioner.' After a slight pause, she added, 'we're like family though.'

'I see,' was Fate's short reply.

The blanket of silence started again. It wasn't awkward, but Nanoha found it unbearable.

'So… friends?' she attempted.

She was determined to solve this complex puzzle called Fate. There was something about him that drew her in. There was something about him that intrigued her to no end.

It may have been the golden tresses that swayed in rhythm as they walked through the corridor to the canteen. It could have been the dismal and distant look he had in his eyes, or the way he had held himself, tense and guarded.

Either way, she found herself helplessly pulled to the burgundy-eyed blonde, who piqued her interest in more than one way or the other.

People say that curiosity killed the cat, but certainly, cats have nine lives. If anything went out of hand, she would survive. She would stand up from her fall, because she was strong; her family always told her that.

But alas, what she did not know was that this time, maybe she might have overestimated her ability to survive the impact; because this time, she was handling a piece of paper glass that was bound to break, shattering into tiny shards that's impossible to glue back together. Because this time, she was playing with fire.

_And fires have no mercy at all_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Prison Love**

**By: illgiveyouparadise**

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Hello guys! I've made this chapter longer (it's the longest so far), so take your time reading it!

Thanks for your reviews guys! My reply is the following:

**Skryx**: I'm not sure if I'm doing Fate's pov. I kinda want to keep her more to the mysterious side... and thanks for the review!

**Emrriz Mei**: So I took upon myself to write some love-love tease moments between them, and I hope you like them! I think I'll write more interactions between just the two of them in the following chapters, but then I don't really want to just focus on their romance. I'll add in some action and drama too, so I hope you don't mind.

**Frosty Asian**: Thanks for the comment and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too!

**megamar**: Once again, I'm glad that someone finds it interesting! Please enjoy this chapter too!

**Aka Chibi-Chan**: Haha. Thanks for your enthusiasm! And yes, you're right, when it comes to Fate, Nanoha's nine lives will be easily lost! Anyway, read on!

**Lance58**: I apologize for the short chapter! This chapter is like thrice (or more) the last chapter longer, so I hope you'll enjoy reading it!

**Sappho Sensei**: Yes, thank you for pointing that out for me! I have changed it now, but anyhow, thanks for the review!

**StephyGrock3107**: Hey, sorry I typed your username without all the capitals in the right place (cause I got kinda lazy)... The answer to your question will be replied soon (hopefully). Really, it depends on how fast I can work on the story, but since I will have a lot to do starting this week, I will try my best to work on the story so it will progress smoothly to reach the point where I can finally answer your question! Thanks for your review!

**Guest(s):** Thanks for your review(s)! Have fun reading this chapter and have a nice day!

* * *

On the other hand_**, I would like to thank all those silent readers out there that keep tabs on my story**_. Really, your fav/follow means a lot to me too. Please continue to support me, thanks!

I know it may sometimes be annoying that you see a whole bunch of things(my responses to some reviews) that doesn't really concern some of us at the beginning of the story, but please know that I'm very grateful to you for giving it a chance. That's all.

**Disclamer: I do not own MGLN! **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Nanoha waited eagerly for a reply to her sudden question, and the blonde stopped in mid-step, his eyes clouding with an emotion that she couldn't quite decipher. Was it indecisiveness? Craving?

Her roommate turned his body towards her and tilted his head slightly to his right, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. As if learning a new word, he said, 'friends?'

Nanoha would have described Fate at that moment as cute. His expression made him look like a lost puppy, which was ironic since he was in no way small or fluffy. _Though he would make a good golden retriever_, she mused.

'Yes, friends,' she confirmed, and the blonde just continued to bore his intense gaze at her, causing her to fidget consciously from one foot to the other.

'I mean, it's okay if you don't want to be friends. I'm totally fine with that. It's not like it's a must. We don't even know each other that much, that's why I wanted to be your friend. But then if you don't want to, it's alright. I won't take any offense. It's just that you seemed lonely and-' seeing her roommate froze on the spot made her stop her embarrassing gibberish.

Realizing what she just said, she continued to babble, 'oh no, I didn't mean it like that. You don't seem lonely at all. Really, you don't. You're intriguing. I mean, interesting. I-wait, I'll just shut up.'

With that said, she clamped her lips together and stared at the ground, willing her eyes to shoot lasers to make a hole deep enough for her to crawl into. Her cheeks reddened at her outburst.

She tended to blubber nonsense when she was nervous or flustered, and this bad habit of hers was incurable. One of her childhood friend, Hayate Yagami, would have loved to tease her at this very moment.

Thinking about it, she had just displayed herself to be a blubbering fool in front of (most probably) the gorgeous guy on earth.

Who knows what will happen to her confidence in her charms and capability to appeal to the other sex? Possibilities popped up in her mind: She may never get married nor have kids. If she really wanted one, then she would have to adopt one. But otherwise, she would be forever alone, and she may just forever chew on a bone…like Hayate's dog Zafira.

However, a warm hand ruffling her hair that was cut short when she had to join the training camp pulled her out of her thoughts, causing her eyes to widen as they travelled upwards to meet Fate's.

Her roommate wasn't smiling or laughing, much less be amused. No, the blonde was simply gazing at her with a forlorn look in his dull burgundy eyes.

Before she could even register what happened, with a swift turn and a whoosh of air, she found that she was staring at a retreating back again, leaving her alone and shaken.

_He didn't even smile_, she whispered to herself.

She understood now.

She was being naïve, thinking that becoming his friend would be as easy as asking a mouse if it wants cheese. How silly of her.

Nothing in this world comes without a price. It would have to take a lot more than just asking if she wanted him to open up to her.

_Time_ was what she needed. And of course, let luck be on her side, she wasn't going to give up on her roommate without a fight.

'Hey! You still haven't answered my question!' she shouted, chasing after him.

_Maybe being here won't be half as bad as she had thought…_

Catching up with Fate, she noticed that they had already gone all the way from the clinic to the canteen, and the place was buzzing with new and old trainees.

Sitting down next to the blonde who had settled himself on a bench, she decided to attempt once more.

'So what are you eating, Fate?' she said the first thing that came into her mind.

Her roommate spared her a glance, and resumed staring at random chatting trainees. 'Everyone's dinner is the same.'

_Ouch_. Nanoha slapped herself mentally. _Stupid_, she scolded herself. _Why does she always lose her footing when she was around Fate?_

'Oh. Then where are you from?' she asked, still adamant.

The blonde stayed silent for a while, and just when Nanoha thought that she wasn't going to get a reply, he spoke, 'Mid-Childa.'

She eyed him with suspicion.

He was lying, and she knew it.

For as long as she was born, she had lived in Mid-Childa, and she practically knew _everyone_ in town.

Yes, she was quite sociable and out-going back home, and all the people liked her fairly well, (something that she was very proud of), so there wasn't a chance that she would have missed the attractive blonde.

Plus, if Fate really _was_ from Mid-Childa, then he would have been the entire town's teenage girl's favorite topic. Hell, maybe even children's and bored housewives'.

There was no way that he would have gone unnoticed. Not with this look and this personality.

As to why he lied, Nanoha had no idea, but what she decided not to push it. She was going to find out the answer later. For now, she would let it go.

Nodding her head, she gave a disbelieving _uh-huh_.

The blonde ignored her, and she sighed, frustrated at how she could get his attention.

She felt like some high school girl trying to make her existence known to the school's most favorable jock, and most likely, her crush.

_Not that Fate is her crush,_ she quickly added. _He's just…different and eye-catching._

Out of vexation, she absent-mindedly punched the table, only to withdraw her hand when pain exploded through her knuckles and to her nerve veins.

Tingles shot up her arm and she cursed under her breath.

Cradling her poor hand into her stomach, she felt the painful throb evade her senses.

Miraculously, the sound of her hand coming in contact with the table had caught her roommate's attention.

That spark of concern appeared in his gaze again, and he reached out for her hand, halting a few centimeters from it before diminishing what he had wanted to do.

Awkwardly, he stood up. 'I'll go get your dinner. Be careful.'

With that, he hurried away, slipping past the crowd with ease.

_That dimwit! He actually cares, but he himself doesn't even realize it!_

Nanoha watched as he came back a few minutes later, each hand holding a tray of food.

_White rice, chicken and a cup of green tea_… 'Seems delicious,' she said, trying to lighten up the mood as Fate placed the tray in front of her.

His eyebrows had squeezed together again, making him seem like a child who was denied his candy instead of a worried guy.

Wordlessly, the blonde started to eat, and Nanoha realized that there was one mega problem. It may be trivial if this was any other normal day, like when she didn't hit her hand hard on a _steel_ table. But today_ definitely _did not have any signs of normality.

'Uh…how am I supposed to eat?' she squeaked.

Fate gulped down his food and glanced at her, then looking from her swelling hand to the pair of chopsticks lying innocently on the tray for a few times, he rested his utensils and pronounced every word carefully, as if he was doing something that he shouldn't be, 'then shall I feed you?'

Nanoha blushed at the courteous offer. Truthfully told, she had never been fed by another person since she had turned three years old; and she was nineteen right now, how embarrassing would that be!

Yet, the slight tingle from her hand reminded her that it was time to accept the truth.

She couldn't possibly hold the chopsticks in place with her injured hand, and it would be impossible to have her dinner without the chopsticks, so in conclusion, she _needed_ his help, even though she won't admit that she _wanted_ to be fed by Fate. After all, how many times in your life will you get the chance to get fed by a fetching guy?

'Y-yeah,' she stuttered out.

Having gotten his permission, Fate held up a slice of chicken and proceeded to put it into her mouth.

As the piece of food drew nearer and nearer, the temperature on her cheeks also rose along. She parted her lips.

_I can do this…I can do this…_

Suddenly shutting her eyes, she clamped her mouth on the whole piece of chicken and chewed on it, swallowing it down her throat before lifting her eyelids.

Gosh, that was fas-… _why did she do that?!_ She yelled in her mind for the second time on the same day.

She was supposed to take the food into her mouth _elegantly_, then nibble on it _slowly_, and lastly, swallow it down with ease like a proper_ lady_.

But what did she do? She acted like an uncivilized person and gulfed the whole piece down without another thought. _Way to go, Nanoha, _she chided.

Well, it wasn't like she could do_ that_ anyway, she comforted herself. She was supposed to be Kyoya, which meant she was to act like a man. _That was the right thing to do, _she told herself._ Yup, the right thing to-_

'My, my, are you boys flirting with each other? Just so you know, I don't swing that way,' a teasing voice said.

Both of them snapped their heads to their right to see a sturdy blue-haired man and a coffee-brown haired man with a smirk on his lips.

Nanoha recognized the shorter male, the one with the blue hair, as the guy who raised his hand to question Jail this afternoon. Shaking her head at them, she said calmly, 'no, we're not flirting.' _Although she wished they were._

She took out her hand for him to see the after effects of her careless action. 'See? I can't eat with this hand.'

'Of course,' the brown-haired man snorted, not even glancing at her hand. 'By the way, I'm Vice, and this is Chrono.' He gestured to his companion.

'Nice to meet you,' she said politely, and nodded her head at both to acknowledge them.

'Mind if we sit here? We like decent and weird friends,' Vice chuckled.

'Only you do, Vice,' the blue-haired male groaned.

_Oh, now she's weird…and decent. _She didn't know whether to be happy or angry at the comment.

'Sure,' she decided. It wasn't like Fate was going to talk any sooner.

They sat down with their own trays opposite to Nanoha, and Vice joked, 'well then, should I feed you a piece of chicken as a token of friendship?'

She choked on her drink.

Putting down her glass of green tea with her good hand, she sputtered, 'w-what?'

'I mean, as grown men, we should have some kind of ceremony to prove that our friendship is pure and irreplaceable,' his expression turned serious, 'you need an ally on the battle field, someone who you can trust to have your back, or else, you won't even be able to last for the first five minutes.'

Then he became playful again. 'So I figured that feeding…' He trailed off.

'Kyoya. My name is Kyoya Takamachi.'

'-Kyoya a piece of chicken would be a suitable ceremony. After all, males aren't supposed to feed another male. It should be reserved for our future lovely girlfriends,' Vice puffed out his chest and formed his hands into a fist in the air, 'but if we give our first time to each other, than that would surely bind our loyalty between us.'

Nanoha stared at the brown-haired man as if he was an alien. It seemed that _he_ was the one who was weird, not her, or Fate.

'Now, let's start our ceremony of brotherhood! Forever loyalty is what makes us strong. Betrayal would mean death,' he picked up his chopsticks and got hold of a chicken, 'shall we?'

'There is no need for that,' an icy voice interjected.

All of them ogled at the blonde, who had stayed silent while observing them until just now. His burgundy eyes was piercing coldly at the brown-haired man, and Nanoha felt relieved that he didn't look at her like that.

'Then what do you suggest,' Vice asked.

The blonde hesitated before answering. 'Blood oath.'

The man paused for a second before throwing back his head and guffawing.

'I like that, I like that!' Then giving her roommate a quick once over, he said, 'aren't you an interesting one?'

Despite the amused male, Nanoha was astonished that Fate had proposed that.

A blood oath was a sacred ceremony that people nowadays tended to avoid.

Signing it would mean they _must_ abide to their oath and death would_ always_ be the penalty for breaking it.

No one could escape the punishment. No one ever did.

There was like this unseen force that helped accomplish the downfall of the betrayer, whether the other people who made the promise together wanted him to die or not.

In fact, this ceremony had grown popular for a few hundred years, but too many people broke their promises, resulting in chaos all over the country. Most people hacked and sliced, while the object of their hatred died at the price of their unfaithfulness. Some though, although hurt and betrayed, mourned for the inevitable loss of their friends and loved ones.

Soon, people started to realize just how dangerous a blood oath was, and less and less swore or made promises using this ceremony.

A chill crept up her spine.

She had a bad feeling about this. They were taking risks, and-

'M-maybe we should just stick to plan A. J-just feed me a piece of chicken,' she said hopefully, but was soon crushed when she saw the faces of the two newcomers.

They were _excited_, to Nanoha's horror.

'Aw come on! Don't be a scaredy-cat! As long as we honor our loyalty to each other, than nothing bad will happen!' Vice chirped, and Chrono agreed along.

'I'm not one to say, since I'm a rule-loving person, I like to stay on safety shores. But I think that this is necessary to make sure that we will not betray anyone in this circle,' the blue-haired boy gave his consent.

Nanoha sighed. It was three against one, no point in arguing with them.

She knew that this was a good chance for her to make some comrades, and they seemed suitable to depend on too.

The next thing she knew, they were all nipping on their index finger, the coppery taste lingering on her tongue.

Chrono unfolded a tissue on the table.

Squeezing a drop of blood onto the snow white surface, he swore, 'I, Chrono Harloawn, swear that I will be loyal to my comrades forever until the last beat of my vitality. May death be upon me if I were to betray any one of them.'

Following him, Vice did the same thing.

When it was Nanoha's turn, she watched as her own blood mixed with the others, spreading across the tissue and simmering down the thin layers of the red-stained fabric.

The deal was done, and strangely, she felt calm and composed. She only hoped that things would be alright.

The last had been Fate, who appeared to have no surname. Yet, the blank expression he had on when he made the promise in a monotone voice added to Nanoha's curiosity.

Wasn't he the one who suggested the idea? He should be delighted that they went with his idea, not emotionless.

_Well, another mystery to for her to solve,_ she thought.

When dinner was over, they went their separate ways to go back to their rooms.

Throughout their conversation in dinner, Fate had mostly stayed silent, only speaking up when someone asked him a question.

Anyhow, he always dodged the more personal questions, like 'where do you live in Mid-Childa?' or 'why don't you have any surname?'

All of them knew that he was holding secrets from them, and Chrono even got so worried to the point that when Fate had gone away to dump his leftovers, he had pestered her about her roommate.

_'Are you sure we can trust Fate, Kyoya? He seems to be hiding something, and I'm not sure we'll like it when we find out what it is,' the blue-haired man said._

_She pondered on what to reply._

_Sure, the blonde had been somewhat withdrawn, but she wanted to believe in that spark of concern in his sad and lonely eyes every time she got into trouble._

_He had offered help when she needed it most. He had saved her from being chewed out by Jail. He had never done anything that proved him to be untrustworthy, at least not yet._

_So there was no reason to doubt in it. Doubt, eventually, had always turned out to be a double-edged sword._

_'Yes, I think we can,' she said, meeting Chrono's eyes with an unwavering gaze._

_The blue-haired man nodded. 'If you say so, you're his roommate after all,' and they changed the topic casually as soon as the subject of their topic came back._

Well, back to reality. She and Fate were alone again in their small room.

Switching on the lights, she was prepared to go straight to bed when a clear voice broke through the air, 'wait.'

She was in the middle of climbing up the short ladder to reach her bed, and when she paused to look at her roommate, she hanged in midair like a monkey.

'I'll help you bandage that swollen knuckle.'

It took Nanoha a few moments to process what the blonde just said.

There he go again, she thought as she jumped off the ladder and sat on the edge of Fate's bed, being all caring and stuff.

The blonde knelt in front of her, his hand carrying a small first-aid box. He set it down beside him, and flipping it open, he took out an elastic bandage.

A warm hand gripped hers gently, pulling it forwards, and Nanoha stared at Fate as he worked his magic.

He was so placid and tender, in her opinion, and she couldn't understand why he wanted to isolate himself, and the longer she peered into his deep burgundy eyes, the more butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

Soon enough, she felt her eyelids starting to droop, and she fought to keep them open.

Her hazy gaze moved to her hand, which was being bandaged neatly.

_Ah, his hand is so gentle, just like his heart, I'm certain…_ her eyelids threatened to close.

In her fuzzy state, she saw Fate putting a safety pin through the bandage to keep it in place.

_Oh curse her full stomach. She actually wanted to talk to the blonde, but… she was so, so sleepy now._

Her head dipped forward and she felt herself slipping out of consciousness. Her body slacked and the last thing she remembered before her eyes were completely shut was falling towards her roommate.

Something homely wrapped around her, and she snuggled closer to the source.

She sighed in content.

She couldn't help but think that it felt right.

_So, is this just a crush, or is it something more?_

* * *

_Do you ever think_

_When you're all alone_

_All that we can be_

_Where this thing can go_

_Am I crazy or falling in love_

_Is it real or just another crush?_

_Do you catch a breathe_

_When I look at you_

_Are you holding back_

_Like the way I do_

_Cause I'm trying and trying to walk away_

_But I know this crush ain't going away_

* * *

Thanks for reading! And leave some **reviews** if you like it or have anything to say!


	5. Chapter 5

**Prison Love**

**By: illgiveyouparadise**

* * *

**Hey guys. I'm so, so sorry for the late update. I had been super busy this week so I had to squeeze out my free time to finish chapter. Plus, I keep editing and changing it.**

I don't really like this chapter, so I look forward to reading your reviews! Let me know what you think and maybe I'll improve it!

Responses to your reviews:

**Aka Chibi-Chan:** Thanks for your review and I hope you like this chapter too! Tell me what you think!

**Emrriz Mei**: Haha, yes, I'm going to add a bit of fluff in it, but I think it's gonna be in later chapters, so please bear with me!

**FrostyAsian:** Thanks for the comment! I hope this chapter won't disappoint you. I've been trying to get this right, so... tell me what you think!

**Lance58:** Yup, you're right! Anyway, read on and please enjoy!

**StephyGrock3107:** Yes, that is totally understandable. English is not my mother tongue too, and I always tend to make silly mistakes, so don't be embarrassed. And to your question, I hope this chapter will be able to give you some clue!

**BunnyxGirl, Kris-tim-chan, rezinpiece, megamar, guest:** Thank you for your reviews! And I know you guys like fast updates. I mean, let's face it. Who likes to wait for a whole week just for a chapter? But then, I want to apologize for the late update. I've been really busy this week so I actually had trouble thinking the chapter over and conjuring the whole thing up, hence, I'm not quite satisfied with it. So, please write me some reviews to tell me what you guys think!

**Heartbreak3r:** Thanks for all your review on each chapter! Truly, it is very much appreciated because it lets me know what some of my readers are thinking. Thanks again and I hope you'll like this chapter!

**Disclaimer: I don't own MGLN!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**_Nanoha_** stared anxiously at the scene unfolding before her.

They were assembled on a platform that was parallel to the formidable training grounds, getting a clear view of the strenuous challenges that awaited its next entrant despite the gathering grey in the sky.

Beside her, the group of new recruits for the army shuffled around restlessly, murmurs of excitement growing louder and louder to her ears. It was almost like the buzzing sound that bees would emit when they flew in a bunch, the annoying racket giving her a headache.

She could see that the trainees were eager to witness the punishment of another, but Nanoha couldn't find it in herself to do so too.

Her heart felt heavy as she watched a blonde walk up to the starting line, her guilt-ridden eyes following his every movement.

_Why was he doing this?_

He had gotten her more and more confused. One minute he was acting all caring and familiar, and the next, he would be cold and distant. However, that didn't seem to stop him from playing the role of Prince Charming, so what exactly was going through that unfathomable mind of his?

She had never met someone as complex and as difficult as Fate in her life. He was hot and cold. He was a masked intruder in her peaceful life. He was her rescuer, and he was the reason for all this disarray.

She sighed and her eyelids fell, remembering what happened this very morning…

_A breeze caressed her cheeks and Nanoha's eyes flew open. She shot up like a rocket, the white blanket falling onto her lap._

Where was she?

_Blinking rapidly, her vision gradually adjusted to the dingy room and she recognized her cramped environment immediately._

Oh right, she was at the training camp.

_It was only the second day away from her family, and she was already feeling_ _homesick. Pulling the covers away, an image of a certain blonde flashed in her mind._

_The events from yesterday came flooding back into her memories._

The two males, the oath, the table, the first-aid box…

_She raised her hand and inspected it after loosening the bandages. It was a whole lot better now. The previous swelling had shrunk to just a purplish blotch on the area around her knuckles._

_Sighing in relief at the fast recovery, the sound of a door unlocking drew her gaze to the dripping wet figure walking towards her, and she squinted her eyes him, the dim rays of light attempting to shroud his appearance._

_Fate was already in his training uniform, and the signature green button-up shirt, black belt, long trousers with the end bound by a pair of boots, seemed to only enhance the red in his eyes that slightly glowed in the dark._

_His damp hair was untied, making him look like a girl, and half of his shirt was already wet, clinging onto him like a body suit._

_He was toweling his hair and being totally casual, and while Nanoha stared, she willed her heart to keep its normal pace._

What exactly happened after she fell asleep yesterday?

_As far as she knew, she had ended up sleeping on his bed and using his blankets._

_'So where did you sleep yesterday?' she asked abruptly._

_'Floor,' the blonde replied easily._

_Nanoha's eyes bulged. 'Why didn't you sleep on my bed?'_

_'… I didn't want to.'_

_'As if that's a reply,' she muttered under her breath._

_She glanced at her watch, and pressed a button, the digital words blinking innocently at her. 'Ten minutes to five?' she screeched. 'Roll call is at five!'_

_She left the bed in a rush and ran into the toilet. Brushing her teeth while her other hand cleansed her face with a towel, she heard the buzzing sound of a hairdryer going off._

_After the hectic fumbling, she was back in the room in a flash. Spotting her uniform lying on the table, she skipped over to it. _

_Taking off her wrinkled t-shirt, a strangled noise froze her hand in midair that clutched the hem of her garment._

_The gears in her brain jammed and screeched to an unexpected stop, and she turned her head to the blonde who stood before the door._

_Time seemed to solidify in the hourglass, the sand freezing in its motion. The only sound that she could hear was the pounding of her heart beating painfully against her eardrums._

_She had forgotten about her roommate, who was a boy no less. He had shock written all over his face, an expression that she had yet to see._

_The blonde's face morphed into being troubled, and he directed his gaze to the right, a light blush blooming on his usually pale cheeks._

_'I'll, um, wait outside,' he said, breaking the impending silence._

_Reality snapped back into place and her eyes widened, the gears resuming its work twice its normal pace-_

_She released the hem of her shirt, had rushed forward and reached out for the blonde. Pulling him away from the door, she slammed it shut and laid her back against it, successfully preventing her roommate from escaping._

_'W-wait,' she huffed, 'I can explain this!'_

_Fate stared at her skeptically, his eyes penetrating through her. He drew his lips into a grim line._

_'Who are you?'_

_His voice no longer contained the familiarity that he had spoken with earlier. His voice was back to its original monotonous intonation, addressing her like a stranger would._

_Feeling hurt, Nanoha gulped nervously and adverted her eyes, the floor tiles catching her interest. _

_'I'm…Uh…I-I'm h-his sis… sister,' she stuttered._

Silence.

_She peeked under her eyelashes for his reaction._

_The blonde was giving her a disbelieving look with a perfect eyebrow raised._

_'N-nanoha. I'm Nanoha Takamachi. Kyoya is my brother, and…due to some family reasons, I came here instead of him,' she struggled to explain._

_Bowing at ninety degrees, she begged him, 'please keep this a secret! I… I'll do anything you want, so please keep it a secret!'_

_Her roommate paused, 'whatever I want? Then will you give me something in return?' he asked bluntly._

_Nanoha's mouth dropped, and she straightened her back, glaring defiantly at the blonde._

_'Give? In return?' she said, flabbergasted._

_The blonde waited impatiently for her answer._

_She sighed and rubbed her temples, searching for an answer in her jumbled mind. _

_'My… my friendship' she replied after giving it a thought._

_He grew rigid. 'Friendship?' he asked in a low voice._

_'Yes, my friendship. You seem like you need a friend,' she pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest._

_He regarded her coldly before shaking his head, his ponytail swinging from left to right. 'Forget it, I don't need it.'_

_He walked to his bed and sat down._

_'Wait, does that mean you're going to keep it a secret?' Nanoha asked hopefully._

_His burgundy eyes bored into hers._

_'Yes, but with one condition,' he said._

_'What condition?' she challenged._

_'That you stay away from me, permanently,' he told her._

_Without comprehending why, fury boiled inside her, threatening to blow over the top. _

_'Pardon?'_

_She tried to keep her emotions under control. Who was he to tell her to stay away anyways?_

_'Stay. Away. From. Me,' the blonde said again, pronouncing each syllable with underlying malice._

_'And I heard you the first time,' she growled. 'Did you forget that _you _were the one who stuck_ your_ nose into _my _business? No one told you to save me from Jail, or feed me my dinner for that matter! I didn't ask to be saved!' she yelled and stormed towards the blonde. _

_'And now you tell me to stay away? May I remind you that it was all _your_ own doing! _Your_ decision! It's not like I imposed on_ you_ on purpose! Don't make it sound like _I _did!' she said indignantly, her tone rising higher and higher with every step she took._

_Fate stared at her with his expressionless gaze, and his stoic mask slipping back on._

_'I will apologize then,' he said acidly and stood up, towering over her._

_'It seems that I have imposed on you instead, Miss Takamachi. I will take my leave now.' _

_With that said, he stalked around her without even sparing her a glance._

_The shock from what she just said finally settled in after a few seconds, and her face contorted into one painted with horror._

_Oh why did she say that? Fate had been nothing but kind towards her, and although he _was _being rude and demanding, she had the nerves to scream all those hurtful words to him._

_She should be ashamed of herself. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, so Fate absolutely had the right to demand something from her, and she understood that too, but… she didn't want to stay away from him._

_She felt like a moth attracted to the flame, and that flickering blaze was Fate._

_She didn't want to leave him alone. There was so much to him that she wanted to unwrap, but it was impossible now. Just when she thought she was making some progress, she had had to go and ruin it. She was back to step one, and she wasn't sure if she could ever make it to step two again._

_She wouldn't be surprised if he's cursing her now._

_In fact, _she _felt like cursing herself._

_Her family would be so disappointed in her if they knew what had happened._

_Turning around helplessly, she yelped, 'wait! Fate, wait!'_

_The blonde paused in front of the door, keeping his back to her._

_She didn't wait for a reply. 'I'm…I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that! I really didn't! I-I just wanted to tell you that, I'm not going to stay away from you because you ask me to!'_

_'You're my friend here! No matter if you want to be or not! And the only thing that I can give you is my friendship! Please understand that!' she pleaded. _

_She took a step towards him._

_'I don't care if you expose my secret,' she told him. 'But I care if you're angry at me, be… because I'm really thankful for everything you've done for me. I-'_

_The door banged shut, cutting off her sentence. Her shoulders slumped, and she let out a sigh of defeat._

_Unbeknownst__ to her, the hour hand had stroke five, and by the time she arrived at the canteen, Jail Scaglietti was ready to slaughter her, his face red and nostrils flaring to complete the picture._

_'Well, well, what do we have here?' his mouth slated into an ugly smirk. 'Perhaps someone being LATE?' he said, roaring the last part at her while she shrank away from his spewing saliva._

_'I thought I had made it clear that I want NO tardiness! And what do I get on the first day of training? Irresponsible trainees!' he thundered to himself, 'why is fate so cruel? First I have to endure this insulting pose that don't even deserve me and second, you mutts-'_

_'Sir if you will allow me to explain,' a sharp voice interrupted._

_A dozen of heads swung around to the back, and they parted ways to create a straight view for their commander._

_The weight on Nanoha's shoulder increased twentyfold when her gaze landed on Fate._

_Was he out to expose her secret? Was he…_

_Jail eyed her roommate like a hawk did to its prey. He glanced at his attendance list._

_'Fate, I suppose,' he drawls out. 'Did anyone ever teach you to NOT interrupt when one is speaking?'_

_'Yes, sir.'_

_'Very well then, I will let this slide for once. Explain now,' he ordered, and the blonde took his cue. _

_'I was the one responsible for Takamachi's poor punctuality. I will, in return, accept the consequence.'_

_'What?' Nanoha exclaimed. 'That's not tru-'_

_The blonde's glare shut her up, and she crossed her arms over her chest, fuming silently to herself._

_What the hell was he thinking? Did he expect her to just stay quiet and let him take the blame? What did he want from her?_

_'Oh, is that so? Then folks, take this as a warning! We will now go to the EXTRA hard training grounds, and let's see if you can save that little life of yours,' Jail smirked. 'Expect some bloodshed, folks!'_

And hence, here they were now.

She couldn't do anything to change their commander's mind. He had dismissed her arguing as annoying pesters, telling him to just worry about being pretty.

She rolled her eyes at that.

Needless to say, she was worrying her guts out and her accumulating anger was only making things worse. Even Vice and Chrono had been smart enough to stay away from her when they sensed her sizzling aura that was ready to burn.

Did Fate_ see_ the training grounds? It was brutal and crazy. No one would ever be able to survive that!

A shrill bell resonated in the air, signaling the start of the blonde's punishment, and Nanoha opened her eyes just in time to see her roommate running to his first challenge.

Even at a far distance, the spikes stuck on the maze of closely packed plants gleamed wickedly under the weak sunlight. The blonde's task was to crawl through them to cross to the other side and go onto her next course, that's if, if he came out alive.

The tangled mess of green was almost impossible to pass by unscathed, and even if he succeeded, there was no way he would survive the swinging axes that burned with intense heat.

She watched with her fingers crossed when Fate lowered himself to the ground, moving forward by using his arms to act as the motor.

She wasn't sure how he made it through. All she knew was that he kept wriggling into weird poses to get by the spikes, but every now and often, he would get careless and the slashes made would leave tiny red trails on the ground.

When he finally reached the other side, his uniform was already tattered into only scraps of cloth hanging on his skin, stains of blood becoming dark purple blotches on the green garment.

'Ha! The kid's going down.' Beside her, a middle-aged man snickered to his friend.

'Man, he's already exhausted! Talk about bad stamina. Even I could do better that. There's no chance for him to live, one wrong move and chop, chop, chop! Spiked by the axes!' the friend gossiped, his hand gesturing the action along with his speech.

_As if he can really do better than that,_ Nanoha thought, irritated at what the men had spoke.

Turning her attention back to Fate, the blonde paused in front of the next challenge, as if deciphering about what to do.

The iron glowed orange under the malicious heat, and she clenched her jaw, waiting for the worse outcome.

_What would it be? Punched into the air by the axes? Spiked through? Or skin and innards burnt alike?_

Her roommate backed up before dashing forward.

Just as the first pair of axes met at their lowest point, Fate dived forward.

One down, two to go.

As his hand touched the ground, he rolled into a ball and passed the opening of the next pair of axes, the flames barely missing him as they crossed each other again.

But time was precious. Bouncing up like a bunny, he narrowly escaped the last pair, the heat searing the end of his trousers.

Everyone's mouth was agape as they stared at the blonde, and the two who had just looked down upon him had the worst awakening-the blonde was the real deal. He was no joke, and he might just manage to come out alive, although bloody and tired, but still alive.

The next challenge was for her roommate to swim across the 100 meter deep pool of salt water.

Nanoha grimaced.

Just how agonizing would that be - with all the cuts and slashes, swimming in a pool full of salt water while trying not to drown would be like rotting in hell's fire. No, it was even worse than that. At least you didn't need to worry about choking for oxygen because you lack it. At least your whole body wouldn't feel like it was being poked with thousands of needles.

She cringed when Fate jumped into the pool without a second thought, the goose bumps rising on her skin. The blonde surfaced and gasped for air.

Still, slowly, he continued to paddle through the water, picking up his pace with every stoke he took.

When he finally pulled himself out of the pool, the water dripping onto the ground was mixed with fresh blood that gushed non-stop from his wounds.

Her heart tightened at the sight.

Fate proceeded to the final challenge, albeit staggering slightly. His front bangs covered his eyes, and he seemed to be having trouble from staying awake. He climbed up the flight of stairs weakly, and when he was at the top, he raised his shaking hands to grip the rough rope hanging above him.

'Heh, now he's _really_ dead meat,' the man beside her snickered again.

Nanoha felt like slapping him and telling him to shut up.

But then, that would attract attention and she would have to explain why she did that. She would try to explain that it was because Fate was her friend (at least roommate), and she had felt insulted for Fate when she heard what the man said.

But that was just an excuse. The truth was, she didn't want to admit what the man said was probably right-

How could Fate, worn out and tired, not to mention bruised and bloodied, be able to reach the other side hanging in midair on a rope without _falling_?

And if he fell, it would be straight through the spikes below.

Nanoha snorted. The people who built the training grounds must love using spikes to torture them.

She let out a sigh. _Focus_, she scolded herself. She didn't want to watch her roommate suffer anymore while she did nothing but stand and look at the sidelines. It wasn't like it was his fault that she had arrived late, but he took the punishment in her place instead. And now, look at his state and look at hers! It should be _her_ who's about to die. It should be _her _whose body is imbrued. It should be _her _who deserved this.

It wasn't Fate, it would never be him. And yet, he had muddled with her destiny and accepted her harsh reality upon himself. _How cruel fate is indeed._

Meanwhile, the blonde lifted himself up and placed his left hand in front of his right. He felt his muscles stretch along with his wounds, tearing the flesh further apart.

He winced.

The salt water had stung his whole body to the point that it became numb and almost robotic-like as he plowed across the pool. But now, as he hanged on for his dear life, he felt his tendons suddenly knocked up and functioning again, causing him to grit his teeth with every move he made. They wailed for him to stop, they begged him to let go, but he turned a blind eye to their pleas.

Halfway across, he decided to change his strategy. Instead of swinging himself forward, he slid his quivering hands bit by bit to the front. It was a slow process, and he tried not to look down.

For heaven's sake, he wasn't even a 'he'! Sure, she did a great job in concealing that fact, but if she died, the veils she created to hide her bust would drop and everybody would know that he's in fact a 'she'… Just like her roommate.

At the thought of the brunette with bright cerulean eyes, a wave of energy coursed through her body, and her grip on the rope tightened.

Actually, she had suspected that Kyoya, no, _Nanoha_ was a girl ever since she had secretly scrutinized her roommate when they first met. She had found it hard to believe that the tender and soft features would be of a boy's, and her height was another problem.

Fate was six feet tall, which was an average height for most males. However, Nanoha was about one head shorter than her, standing at, she assumed, five feet six. That height was considered short for a fully grown male, so she wasn't surprised at all to see the brunette's chest bound by white cloth this very morning. It just confirmed her suspicions.

But then, there were the complications.

She knew that her roommate was a girl, but the roommate didn't know that _'he' _was a girl. And when the brunette offered her friendship, Fate had nearly succumbed to her selfishness and accepted it. Thank the heavens that she refrained herself from doing so, because at that particular moment, she had felt the familiar fear that gripped her heart.

What would mother think of her if she_ did _accept it?

A pair of ferocious, disappointed eyes flashed in her memories.

She suppressed her shudder. _You're a failure, a mistake,_ her mother's voice echoed in her head.

Hence, she had demanded the brunette to leave her alone. _It's for the best._ She still thought it was, but when she realized that her roommate was going to receive the punishment for being late, she had spoke up before she could stop herself.

Something about the girl made her want to protect her. She wasn't sure why, or what it was, but that it would only bring trouble.

A splat of water on her cheeks broke her out of her thoughts, and luckily, she had already landed on the opposite side. Releasing her heavy hold on the rope, she stumbled down the stairs.

Another wet sting on her arm brought her eyes towards the drab sky. Large, fat raindrops plunged down, soaking her clothes once more. She didn't really care that she would be doused. All she cared was that she was still alive and kicking.

_Would mother by proud if she knew that she had survived the hardest training grounds without any actual training?_

Well, she didn't have the luxury to think about the possible answers.

I_t_ was _coming_. She had felt it before she saw it.

Her skin prickled with uneasiness. She raised her head just in time to see a slick beam of metallic silver pummeling towards her.

The next thing she knew, she was blinded by the sudden white. What scared her was, she had recognized what the familiar element that impaled her with full force was.

_Magic? _She whispered, and her legs gave way, her mind falling into complete darkness.


End file.
